Just because they're doing well doesn't mean everyone in your life is suddenly going to be sporting a WP8 phone, meaning they could lose the 'Rooms' functionality. For those who don't know, Rooms are essentially groups for communicating with friends who have Windows Phone 8 handsets... and now other smartphones, it seems. You don't even need a hacky little app or a modified phone. Microsoft thoughtfully included support for Android, iOS, and WP7 handsets. The company doesn't claim you'll get the same experience as on WP8, but the base functionality is there.

Having not tried this for ourselves, we can't say much on app quality. Microsoft, while willing to update apps on other platforms, does occasionally release a weak link in the chain. With these apps potentially helping people get an idea of the WP8 experience, we'd trust Microsoft to get them right.